


Old Fashioned Card Games

by pherryt



Series: The McCoy Files [3]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Card Games, F/M, M/M, Technophobia, bones is frustrated, canasta, couples, grumpy doctor, jim has a solution, silliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 13:44:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11291862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Something has caught Dr. McCoys attention and Jim wants to know what it is.





	Old Fashioned Card Games

**Author's Note:**

> I play Canasta. i love it. Like Bones here, I resort to playing against a computer opponent with a computer partner. You need 7 cards to make a canasta. you need canastas to win the game. do you know how frustrating it is to watch your 'partner' throw away the 7th card when you already have 6 laid out on the table? I've watched them do other things nearly as stupid as that but that one, that takes the cake....

Everyone on board was used to the doctor’s grumpy, sarcastic nature. He was a force to be reckoned with if you crossed him or avoided your physicals, but they also knew it hid a big heart. They also were all well aware of just  _how much_  he disliked ‘new-fangled gadgets’ such as transporters (which had only been around for about 100 years. Give or take.)

His behavior and his fears were widely regarded with both fondness and exasperated amusement, and they were no strangers to scenes like the current one that various crew members found themselves witnessing at dinner in the Enterprise rec room that night.

So of course, they just shrugged and steered clear of the swearing doctor as he sat alone in a corner, his dinner mostly untouched as he wrangled with whatever was happening on his data pad. Situation normal. Don’t prod the grumpy doctor.

Everyone steered clear except for the captain, of course. And that was situation normal as well, and none of the crew paid it any mind.

Never one to shrink at danger, Jim set his tray down across from Leonard and waited with a raised brow. There was no acknowledgement from his best friend and recent husband. “Hey Bones,” Jim greeted.

“Not now, kid, I’ve just got to – goddammit!”

“What’s going on?”

“What’s going on is that whoever programmed this thing was a goddamn idiot,” Leonard groused.

“Whatever it is could wait, I’m sure. Why don’t you eat your dinner? Gotta keep your energy up,” Jim said with a grin at Leonard.

The doctor didn’t notice, his eyes not leaving the pad once. “No, I need to finish this first.”

“Bones – Len, c’mon. You  _need_ to take a break. Look, we arrive at Risa tomorrow. Join me for shore leave. We can hit the beach, have a few drinks, y’know… _relax_ for once.” Jim wheedled.

“This  _is_  relaxing,” Leonard protested.

Jim blinked. “Doesn’t look that way to me.” He reached for the pad and Leonard pulled it away sharply. “What the hell are you working on anyway?”

“It’s a game,” Leonard admitted finally.

“A game?” Jim asked incredulously. “You? Playing a game? I didn’t know you knew how to have fun – oh wait, you don’t. You’re too busy scowling and cursing at that thing in your hand.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Leonard finally looked up at Jim with a glare.

“Look at you!  You’re not relaxed. You’re tense as hell!  You look like you’re about to bust a vein.” Jim pointed out with concern. “And I mean, I know a  _few_ ways to fix that, but not all of them are a good idea out in public.”

“Psssh…you’re exaggerating. Anyway, it  _would_ be relaxing if the stupid computer wasn’t so…asinine!” Leonard let the pad clatter to the table in his annoyance.

“Okay, so what are you playing?” Jim asked. Leonard remained quiet, a small blush pinking his cheeks. “Bones?” Jim prodded.

“Canasta. It’s a card game.” Leonard finally admitted grudgingly.

Jim started to laugh. “Oh man, you really are old fashioned!”

“And that’s why I didn’t want to tell ya, kid,” Leonard started to stand.

“Oh, c’mon. I’m just teasing,” Jim reached up to snag Leonard’s sleeve and pull him back down. The doctor allowed him to, though a little reluctantly. “So if the computer opponent is so stupid, why don’t you just up the difficulty level?”

“Because it’s not that simple. It’s not my _opponent_ who’s the problem, it’s my partner. The game is played by pairs. I mean, I understand that the game was programmed with a percentage of error to mimic human behavior, but you don’t throw away the winning card! _Nobody’s_ that stupid!”

Jim started roaring and Leonard muttered but didn’t stand up this time. Instead, he turned to his dinner, eating it with a glare and waiting for Jim to settle down.

“Okay, okay, how about this?” Jim finally stopped laughing and started speaking, albeit somewhat breathlessly, “I see three options here. One, you talk to Spock and teach him how to play so he can rewrite the program for you. He’s the best on the ship. I bet something like that would be child’s play to him.”

Leonard glared at Jim for even _thinking_ of having him ask Spock for help on something so frivolous.

“Two, find other people on board who’ll play with you and avoid the program altogether,” was Jim’s next suggestion.

Leonard rolled his eyes but remained focused on his dinner. “You think I haven’t already tried? Nobody wants to learn a game as ‘archaic’ as Canasta. Why do you think I’ve resorted to…to _this?”_

“Lastly,” Jim reached forward and touched Leonard’s hand, getting him to look up away from his dinner and at Jim. “It’s played in pairs you said?” Jim’s thumb rubbed along Leonard’s hand, still new to this, to them, causing Leonard to blush again, this time for very different reasons.

“Basically, couples, right? Well, why don’t you teach  _me_  how to play? Can’t be too hard. Then we’ll teach Spock and Uhura so we can all play together. Spock’s all about learning new things and I’m sure Nyota would appreciate being able to do some kind of date like activity.”

“So instead of cursing at a computer, I can be cursing at you?” Leonard smiled wryly at Jim.

“Oh ye of little faith! Besides, how’s that any different than normal?” Jim grinned back.

So, barely a week later, found the new normal of rec room activities to include a 4 person couples game of Canasta. It soon became a weekly event, the games becoming legendary as the crew took bets not only who would win or lose, but how badly and exactly how Dr. McCoy would react _this_ time.

“Jim! What? Why would you _do_ that? Have I taught you _nothing?_ ”

“Trust me, Bones, I didn’t have much in the way of options here. It was the best of a bad set of choices.” Jim assured him. “I think I know how to make choices like this. I mean, I _am_ the captain of a starship.”

“But we coulda _used_ that card! Now they’re gonna keep it away from us!” Leonard sighed and play would continue. Until the next time the Doctor would say something.

“Are you accusing me of cheating, Doctor?” Spock asked evenly as McCoy blustered.

“No, of course not! But I sure as hell hate sitting next to you. You gotta be reading my mind! How else would ya know exactly _which_ cards never to throw away – _ever!_ You gotta toss away something good _some_ time!” Leonard groused out loud, but inwardly he was pleased.

This was what he’d craved. As frustrating as an opponent Spock was, he was a challenge to play against. All of them were quite formidable, actually, and they were equally as competent as a partner when they switched up on occasion. Just to keep the games from getting too stagnant. Jim had been right, it had been easy enough to teach them all the game, and it was way more fun and relaxing then playing against the computer.

Leonard never trusted the damn things anyway.


End file.
